What's the best way to sell modern, partially-graded sets?

DrNguyenVanFalk

I'm sure that most of us here have a variety of sets from the "modern era" (which I'll call 1973 to the present) that aren't candidates for grading in their entirety. I have box after box of sets, and I expect to be moving in the next six months, so I want to thin the herd a little. I have had most of the star cards graded, and they tend to range from PSA 6 to PSA 8. The commons are generally the same condition; these were collector's sets, not investor's sets.

My question is, what is the best way to sell them on eBay to maximize price? I've put two small sets up this week to get the ball rolling (sorry in advance for pimping my auctions, but here goes: 1981-82 Topps Hockey and 1981-82 Topps Basketball). I'm not drawing any bites yet. Should I sell the stars individually and pitch the commons? Is it wise to cross-list in both the "sets" and "graded singles" categories, or is that a waste of listing fees? Is it even worth it to "partially grade" a set (as a buyer, I like to see it, but I don't know if the economics are worth it as a seller).

BobS

Not really sure why you have no bites yet. I have picked up a few early 1980's baseball sets listed this way (with a few of the RC's and stars graded) and have always seen multiple bids. Your starting prices are reasonable, maybe because the cards are PSA 7-8 most people are passing. I guarantee they will not close with no bids

CoachHouston247

Well, I think you did pretty good on your 2 sets. 1981-82 Topps Basketball went for more than what I figured it would, but your hockey setI got relatively cheap. 1981-82 Hockey I still believe you sold these the right way. I don't think you would have realized as much on the commons as with the graded cards

Houston

DrNguyenVanFalk

I'm generally happy with the results. I got a few dollars more than the grading fees for the two sets, which isn't bad considering the graded cards were only 7s and 8s. I have a 1973 and a 1977 baseball set with graded stars that I'll probably put on eBay in the next couple of months.

Houston, I think you'll be happy with the Hockey set. Although plentiful, I think it is an attractive set that provides a nice cross-section of players (Kuri, Gretzky, Lafleur, Borque, etc.).